Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Gov. Haslam signs tenure reform bill

Gov. Bill Haslam signed into a law a bill that tightens the rules for teachers to earn tenure in a brief ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

Haslam said the bill, which lengthens the required waiting period for teachers to get tenure to five years and sets up a procedure for poorly performing teachers to lose their tenure, represents his first major legislative victory since taking office in January.

He signed the bill despite objections from teachers that the new tenure rules rely too heavily on an evaluation process that is still being written.

"The fact that this passed today is a significant first step," Haslam said. "This is too important to keep pushing off until we get it perfect."

The legislature is reviewing another Haslam education initiative that would lift the cap on the number of charter schools in Tennessee. Lawmakers also are debating a bill that would reverse the 1978 law that gave teachers the power to unionize.

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From Tennessee SCORE website:

What are the key parts of the proposed tenure legislation?

•Extends the probationary period before granting tenure from three to five years

•Ties tenure decisions to the new teacher evaluation (which is 50% based on student achievement data) – to receive tenure a teacher must be in the top two (out of five) effectiveness categories on the evaluation system for two years before being eligible for tenure

•Expands the definition of "inefficiency" as grounds for removing a tenured teacher to include ineffectiveness on the teacher evaluation

•For teachers who receive tenure after the new law is enacted, requires a return to probationary status if they are in the bottom two effectiveness categories for two consecutive years